Year of the Spark: September 29
by Sparky Army
Summary: It was an agreement he'd never stick to.


_We, the Sparky Army, decree 2008 to be the Year of the Spark. We pledge to post a new sparky story or chapter of a sparky story every day from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008. Though the Powers that Be have removed Elizabeth Weir from the regular cast of Stargate Atlantis, we feel that she remains an integral part of the show, and that the relationship between her and John Sheppard is too obvious to be ignored. We hope that you, and anyone might happen to read these works, agree._

_And if that isn't official enough for you, we don't know what is. Seriously, guys, we're just trying to have some fun--and show TPTB that Sparky is the way to go. So sit back and enjoy the 366 stories coming your way!_

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**An Old Agreement**

_By Hannah554_

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There were days when she could kill John Sheppard; he could take her from being in a really great mood to being in a really bad one in less than a second. He hadn't been kidding back when they'd first arrived in this galaxy and he'd told her he could get them into trouble, he did it on a weekly basis. She would never change bringing him with her on this expedition, would never want anyone else as her second in command but there were moments where she could happily throw her dislike for violence out the window and shoot him.

He'd messed up and he'd done it in a big way this time, now they had the IOA breathing down their necks... again and a whole new enemy to deal with and she knew he'd do exactly the same thing if given a second chance. She'd been kidnapped while she was off world, the only mission she'd been on since her pregnancy, with one of the teams, diplomacy had failed in the first thirty seconds, her kidnappers had refused to acknowledge they even had her. They had however mentioned their customs for releasing foreign prisoners, something that involved public punishment among other things, she wasn't entirely sure of the specifics yet but whatever their customs had been it was enough to have John leading several teams in to rescue her.

There'd been several explosions and lots of deaths on her kidnapper's side before John had gotten her out and brought her home only for her to have to face the very angry IOA and an equally unhappy military. Her kidnappers had declared war on them, they wouldn't stand a chance in an all out assault on Atlantis but that didn't mean they couldn't cause a lot of trouble off world. John had risked the safety of Atlantis, put their people's lives second to hers and she knew she should be mad at him for it.

She couldn't bring herself to be though; he was a man who didn't leave people behind, especially her. She'd come to their quarters with the intention of telling him what he already knew , that Atlantis came before them. It was something they had agreed on at the start of this relationship, something John would once again agree to but would more than likely fail to remember the next time she was in danger.

The doors to her quarters opened and she forgot that she was supposed to be mad at him, that she was supposed to talk to him and once again reach an agreement that he would never stick to. John was asleep, sat in the large chair in the corner of the room, his head resting on the back and his arm wrapped protectively around the tiny frame of their daughter. Katelyn was sleeping with her head on her father's chest, the exact same expression on both their faces and Elizabeth just stood in the doorway for a moment watching them.

Trust John Sheppard to go and do something that should make her mad at him – even if it didn't – and then go and do something incredibly adorable. She sighed and walked into the room properly, allowing the doors to close behind her as she debated whether to wake John so he could sleep in the bed or just leave them to it.

They had to face the IOA tomorrow, would have to sit through question after question, half of which would probably have nothing to do with the reason they'd come. He'd need his sleep, he'd need a proper nights sleep and he wasn't going to get it sleeping in a chair all night. She quickly changed into her pyjamas before moving over to sit on the chair arm next John. She ran her hand over her daughter's back and then her husband's arm marvelling at the knowledge they were hers.

"John," she said quietly nudging his arm slightly and he sighed as he woke up, groggy eyes meeting hers and she could tell he was half expecting the telling off she couldn't bring herself to give him. "Put Katelyn to bed, you're gonna need your sleep."

John looked down at his chest at the pink Pyjama clad form of their daughter who was still asleep. "But she looks comfy," John stated dismayed at the thought of having to move her. Katelyn was barely 6 months old and she already had her father wrapped around her little finger; she could only imagine it was going to get worse as she got older.

"She'll be just as comfortable in her bed," Elizabeth told him and John reluctantly stood up moving Katelyn to the crib without waking her up. She shifted a little as he put her down, making herself more comfortable in the bed but she stayed asleep as John carefully placed her blanket over her.

"So how bad?" he questioned as he turned to look at her.

"Pretty bad," she replied and shrugged "We've faced worse."

"I'm not sorry," he stated and she smiled and shook her head. "I'd do it again if I had to."

"I know you would but..." she began and then trailed off before she could start telling him that Atlantis had to come first, John however said it for her.

"Atlantis has to come first," he said with a hint of sarcasm "We weren't parents when we made that deal, I don't want Katelyn to grow up without her mother, I don't want to grow up without her mother."

The last part was said with John's typical humour and she couldn't help but respond to it, smiling and looking down, knowing that she shouldn't find it funny. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he automatically pulled her closer.

"Let's just get through to tomorrow," she whispered and he kissed her neck.

"That'll be the easy part, General O'Neill's coming in a few days and he's gonna be mad as hell that I let you get in trouble in the first place," John joked though there was probably a lot of truth in that.

"Don't worry, I'll tell him to go easy on you."


End file.
